The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant festuca in Madison should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

Frost tolerance for festuca:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Festuca do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Madison is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant festuca and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your festuca indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Madison. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your festuca in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Madison.